Kristi Noem is allegedly ending her 34-year marriage after her husband’s secret fetish life spilled into public view.
The former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary plans to divorce her husband, Bryon Noem, and he has moved out of their Castlewood, South Dakota, home, her mother, Corinne Arnold, told the Daily Mail. No divorce paperwork has appeared in South Dakota court records, the New York Post reported, and Noem herself has not confirmed the split.
Arnold, 77, told the Daily Mail that her daughter revealed the decision at a grandchild’s birthday party in late spring, after the scandal surrounding Bryon broke. “It has been difficult, but we knew this was coming, that they were going to get divorced,” Arnold told the outlet. She said she pressed her daughter directly during the gathering. (RELATED: REPORT: Kristi Noem’s Husband Allegedly Discussed Desire To Transition In Messages With Dominatrix)
“She doesn’t tell me what she thinks. Finally, I said: ‘What’s the deal? Are you going to get together again?’ And she said: ‘No. No. We’re going to get a divorce,’” Arnold told the Daily Mail. Her daughter added that a lawyer from Sioux Falls was handling the matter. Bryon now lives about 20 miles away and still runs his insurance business, the outlet reported.
Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has told family she has begun divorce proceedings against her husband Bryon and that he recently moved out of their home https://t.co/dVFCOZzNqA 🔗 pic.twitter.com/Fap34BihDz
— Daily Mail US (@Daily_MailUS) July 10, 2026
The split followed a March investigation by the Daily Mail that reported Bryon, 56, had taken part in the “bimbofication” fetish scene, in which adult performers inflate their breasts with saline to mimic a Barbie-doll look. The outlet reported he sent fetish models images of himself with balloons stuffed under women’s clothing to imitate large breasts. National security specialists consulted by the Daily Mail warned at the time that such conduct could expose Noem to blackmail. Noem said she was “blindsided” and “devastated” by the reporting and asked the public for privacy and prayer, the outlet said.
The marriage collapse arrived during a punishing stretch for Noem’s career. President Donald Trump removed her from DHS on March 5 and reassigned her as Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas, a new Western Hemisphere security post, NBC News reported. Her firing followed two days of combative congressional hearings over her immigration enforcement record, according to NBC News.
Speculation about the marriage dates back years. Noem’s closeness to former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski surfaced in 2023, the Daily Mail reported. A years-long affair between the two has since been alleged, which Noem has denied, according to the New York Post. Arnold dismissed the affair allegations as “a bunch of crap” in her Daily Mail interview and defended both her daughter and Lewandowski.
Arnold, who was widowed in 1994, said she understood the decision even as it pained her. “I feel bad, sick that they’re getting a divorce, but what else can you do?” she told the Daily Mail.